Dr. Thomas Piechota has over 20 years of experience as an engineering educator and currently serves as the Interim Dean of the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering at Chapman University. He served as the Vice President for Research at Chapman University from 2016 – 2021. Prior to arriving at Chapman, he spent 16 years at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as a Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and as the Vice President for Research. He has been recognized for his efforts in teaching and research in water resources, hydrology, and climate change, and as an administrator advancing the research enterprise. He received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award for the project, "Improved Hydrologic Drought Forecasting Using Climate Information", was the Co-Investigator on the $20 million National Science Foundation study on climate change impacts in Nevada, and was an invited Lead Author on the Southwest Chapter of the National Climate Assessment in 2013. He is currently a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a licensed Civil Engineer in California.